Chapter 144

I came to the zoo to keep a promise I made with Leon, but to be honest, I didn’t think I would enjoy it.

I liked animals, but to me, a zoo was just a place where I could only see the animals lying around with a look like a veteran soldier at the end of their service.

Since I had only been there once as a child, it might just be a prejudice, but if I wanted to see animals, I’d rather watch a documentary which felt much more vivid.

Moreover, I had probably seen most animals on YouTube, so I wouldn’t be amazed to see them now at the zoo.

There was a time when I thought that.

“What is this…?”

“Sister, is this your first time at the zoo?”

“…It’s my first time. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The moment I entered the zoo, I couldn’t help but close my mouth at the spectacle laid out before me.

The towering trees of the tropical rainforest, the sand-filled deserts, the ice-covered polar regions, and many more environments unfolded just a few steps away each time I turned my head.@@novelbin@@

It was truly a breathtaking scenery that felt out of this world, and as I stood there wide-eyed, Yoon Si-woo opened his mouth to explain.

“This zoo was created by a great magician who once set up a barrier in the city. Because of the magic, habitats where creatures could live disappeared, so the purpose was to preserve as many species as possible by magically recreating the ecosystem in places where they originally lived. Thanks to that, we can learn about the animals that used to inhabit these places in the past.”

To implement an entire ecosystem; no wonder we were in a world where magic existed, the scale was indeed extraordinary.

Somehow, I thought this whole area in the city was labeled as a zoo…

It made me wonder if Noah’s Ark actually existed, it might feel something like this.

By the way, I was curious about how the観覧 (viewing) would take place, so while reading through the pamphlet I received, it said there were special viewing areas for people who wanted to see the animals up close.

Moreover, there were also holographic screens hovering in the air that displayed the animals as they lived in their ecosystems for those who wanted to see how the animals interacted.

Seeing children gathered around the screen, I was taken aback and exclaimed, pointing at the screen.

“Look! That horse has a horn!”

“That’s not a horse, Scarlet. That’s a unicorn.”

A unicorn! Is that the one I’ve only heard about?

Thinking about it, this place has both magic and elves, so it wouldn’t be strange to find some fantastic creatures here.

I suddenly recalled an ad that I had laughed about, which kept shouting, “Unicorns are real!” and I silently apologized.

I’m sorry, the unicorn was indeed real.

Anyway, upon confirming the unicorn with my own eyes, I began to wonder if there was something like a transparent dragon that once gave me a huge shock in my childhood, so I scrutinized the screen.

Then I soon realized that if a dragon were transparent, I wouldn’t see it anyway, so I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

It was a pity; I really wanted to see if it would roar “Kraaaah!”

However, with the astonishing appearance of the new animals displayed on the screen, I quickly set my disappointment aside and exuberantly shook Yoon Si-woo, exclaiming.

“Look over there! This time, that horse has wings!”

“That’s not a horse. That’s a pegasus.”

“Pegasus! Is that really it!”

I marveled with my mouth open at the sight of the pegasus soaring gracefully through the sky.

“That! That’s an eagle but with four legs!”

“That’s a griffin.”

“So that’s a griffin!”

I cheered at the sight of a griffin flying in a circle, intimidating like in Harry Potter.

“Wow! That cat has whiskers!”

“…Scarlet, cats normally have whiskers.”

“Ahaha! That’s true!”

I was so filled with excitement that even seeing an ordinary cat made me shout out random comments and laugh.

Although it was a space created by human hands, watching the vibrant animals living there gave me a feeling of revitalization.

At that moment, I noticed that people watching the screen together were letting out high-pitched screams, eyes wide.

Curious, I looked over to see two red lizards battling it out as if they were Pokémon, each spewing flames at each other to see who was stronger.

“Wow, look at those lizards! Is that how they fight?”

“Um, no… those are called salamanders, but they’re not really fighting…”

As Yoon Si-woo hesitated, trying to explain, the Maria director, who was beside us watching with delight, chuckled and continued.

“Hehe, Scarlet, they’re not fighting; they’re mating. Salamanders are gender-neutral beings and compare their flames like that, and the one with the weaker flame ends up carrying the offspring of the stronger one. They’re mysterious creatures born from flames, so if they receive the flames of the other, they get pregnant.”

As soon as the director finished speaking, one of the salamanders stopped spewing flames as if accepting the other and received the flames emitted from the other into its body.

Then, the salamanders, looking affectionately at each other as if questioning when they had competed, left me in cultural shock, nudging Yoon Si-woo beside me with my elbow and murmured.

“Wow, then they just mated and made a baby? That’s amazing…”

“Uh… yeah…”

Yoon Si-woo, who seemed to have a strangely reduced word count beside me, and I shared our glances with shining eyes as we watched the extraordinary animals.

It had been so long since I felt this joyful that I was a bit surprised at expressing my feelings honestly.

Yoon Si-woo, who had been staring at me blankly, asked in a small voice.

“…Scarlet, you really love animals, don’t you? You look so happy.”

“Yes, I’ve never been to a place like this; it’s so much fun. I really made the right decision coming here.”

After answering Yoon Si-woo, I glanced at him for a moment and murmured.

“But if I had come here alone without you… I wonder if I would have enjoyed it this much…”

It was entirely thanks to Yoon Si-woo being there that I could comfortably appreciate and enjoy the sight of the animals.

Because I believed that no matter what problems arose, Yoon Si-woo would solve them.

“I wouldn’t have felt this much joy if it weren’t for you. Thank you for coming with me.”

I smiled at Yoon Si-woo, expressing my gratitude.

“… Let me know if you want to go anywhere else later. I’ll go with you.”

Yoon Si-woo, seeming a bit shy at my words, replied.

After a good while of watching the screen, we moved to a viewing area where you could see the animals up close with the children.

This was surprisingly reminiscent of the zoo I knew.

However, since I heard that you could even feed some animals or ride them here, my enthusiasm didn’t wane at all.

“Is there any animal you want to see up close?”

“Well… I’m not sure…”

There were plenty of animals I wanted to see up close, so while I was considering Yoon Si-woo’s question, I heard a whinny sound coming from somewhere.

The moment I turned toward the sound, I decided on my destination.

“Over there, I want to see that up close.”

“Which one? Ah… the unicorn?”

Nodding my head while inwardly shouting that unicorns do exist, I slowly headed toward the enclosure where the unicorn was.

Indeed, there were many people gathered around the completely pure white unicorn, yet it seemed indifferent to them, turning its back while constantly whinnying.

As I got a bit closer, I noticed the caretaker inside the enclosure looking troubled.

“Sigh, you really… everyone, I apologize. This one has quite a sensitive personality. It seems unlikely we’ll be able to do the feeding experience today… Ah, hey, why is it suddenly like this?”

Just as I was feeling disappointed at the caretaker’s words, thinking I wouldn’t be able to feed it, I felt like I made eye contact with the unicorn that suddenly turned.

As I tilted my head, doubting it was just my imagination, I saw the unicorn approaching me at a fast pace, causing me to involuntarily flinch.

At that moment, Yoon Si-woo subtly stepped forward, blocking me.

Wondering why he was doing that, I stared at the back of his head, and I soon saw the unicorn lean its head over the fence to glare at Yoon Si-woo while snorting.

A moment of silence ensued, and then Yoon Si-woo asked the flustered caretaker.

“…Excuse me, why is this fellow acting like this?”

“Um… well, it seems this one is quite taken with the lady over there? It’s not its normal behavior… But excuse me, could you please feed it?”

“…Can’t I just feed it myself?”

As Yoon Si-woo spoke, the unicorn looked at Yoon Si-woo with an expression full of contempt and neighed.

…It seemed to be saying not to spout nonsense.

Not sure if it was just my interpretation, I could see Yoon Si-woo trembling slightly.

Feeling a bit sorry for Yoon Si-woo, who was being ignored by the animal, I nonetheless wanted to take the chance to feed the unicorn that had been on my mind.

In that moment, I decided to step around Yoon Si-woo, who was trying to steal that precious opportunity from me, and took the food in front of the enclosure, holding it out to the unicorn.

Cautiously, the unicorn took the food and started to nuzzle my hand with a sound of satisfaction.

I marveled at its smooth texture, and after a moment of nuzzling my hand, the unicorn lifted its head and cast a strange glance at the caretaker.

“Hey, wait… is this for real? You’re not supposed to act like this. You said you can’t.”

The caretaker spoke in disbelief as if they were communicating with each other, but the unicorn gave a determined look toward the caretaker while snorting.

With that gaze, the caregiver sighed helplessly and turned to me.

“Um, Miss… would you like to ride it?”

“Me? Ride this one?”

“Yes, I realize it’s a bit of an imposition, but it truly wants to. This one has never allowed anyone on its back before, yet suddenly it’s doing this. If you really don’t want to, that’s fine, but… could you consider it just once?”

The caretaker earnestly asked, bowing as if making a lifelong request.

I couldn’t hide my astonishment at the caretaker’s demeanor.

Why am I the one being asked to ride just once?

It should be that I would be begging to ride just for a moment instead!

My answer was, of course, yes.

Once I nodded, the unicorn kicked up its heels happily.

However, Yoon Si-woo glanced around and frowned slightly as if disapproving, muttering.

“Hey, Scarlet. You probably shouldn’t ride it if you can help it…”

“Why? I really want to ride!”

“…Okay. Just be careful.”

I wondered if I should need permission, but anyway, with Yoon Si-woo‘s consent, I stepped over the fence, and the unicorn knelt down as if eagerly urging me to get on.

Having never ridden an animal before, I felt a little nervous, but the caretaker beside me took my hand gently and said.

“Don’t worry too much. Unicorns are gentle, and they won’t run roughly at all.”

Believing that, I climbed onto the unicorn, which slowly stood up.

At that moment, my eye level suddenly increased sharply, causing me to shrink slightly, but when I opened my eyes to the soothing sound of the unicorn, I couldn’t help the broad smile that crept over me.

Wow, this is amazing! It’s so high!

It wasn’t much—just about twice my usual eye level—but it felt as if I had become a giant.

Moreover, like the caretaker said, unicorns were gentle; even though they weren’t slow-paced, I felt almost no shaking.

Although I had never ridden a carousel, I wondered if it felt something like this.

As I fell into a calm state of mind, I noticed people outside the enclosure staring up at me blankly.

Feeling exuberant, I waved my hand and smiled at them, and that single lap around the enclosure ended in no time.

After that ride, or perhaps it should be called “riding a unicorn,” I exited to find all the gazes around focused on me.

Are they jealous? They must be.

Feeling good from the memorable, amazing experience, I was smiling involuntarily when suddenly a man approached me and spoke.

“Excuse me, miss, do you have a moment…?”

Just as I was about to lean in to hear what he had to say, someone suddenly stepped in front of me.

It was Yoon Si-woo.

Yoon Si-woo glared at the man for a moment and then grasped my wrist, pulling me away from where the unicorn was.

“…Let’s go somewhere else.”

“Wait… I think that guy had something to say to me…”

“You don’t need to worry about such people; let’s go.”

“Um…? Uh…”

With Yoon Si-woo‘s rather determined attitude today, I ended up bidding farewell to the unicorn without a chance to express my gratitude.

Thank you for letting me ride you, unicorn.